Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bored With Church?

I was driving in to work this morning and I passed a billboard that asked the question "Bored with Church?". For some reason this rubbed me the wrong way, I started mulling it over as I dropped the kids off at school. I began to think is this what church has become? A place where we can be entertained? Should we be shopping around to find the church that entertains us. Should we think of church like we do the race this weekend in Darlington? Should church entertain us like a basketball game? If you are bored with church maybe it is not a new church that people need, maybe it is a new understanding of what church is about. We live in a society that says it is all about us. We deserve this and that, we need to be happy and entertained because we work hard, because life is short and we may not be here tomorrow. Go for it, grab all you can! This may be what the world says but I do not see this in Scripture. Take a look at a couple of passages.

Acts 2:42-47 42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Do you see anything in this passage about entertainment? Do you see anything about the style of music that was sung? Does this passage mention anything about the aesthetics of the place of worship? I do not think these people were bored. I do not see anything about being entertained in this passage. They were too busy doing what God called them to do to get bored.

II Corinthians 11: 24 - 28 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Do you think Paul was bored? Paul was suffering for serving. He was persecuted for doing what God called him to do. Paul was not concerned with the style of music churches were singing, he was not concerned with the physical appearance of a worship facility. He did not encourage Timothy to entertain the people or work on his presentation skills. If you read II Timothy 4 you will see quite the opposite.

I think we (I) need to understand what the Church, the called out ones, is about. It is not about us and how we can be entertained, it is about Him and how we can worship Him through our lifestyle of service.